This 12.6 kilos pastardella or as the gozitans call it (imsell tal-imperial) was caught last saturday the 2rd November in force 3/4 at around 9.00am, never imagned that we would catch such a big fish, was not prepared for such a beauty, had nowhere to store it. Such fun and pleasure made my season on just one fish.
(http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/gallery/1_10_02_08_2_33_58.jpg)
(http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/gallery/1_10_02_08_2_35_54.jpg)
(http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/gallery/1_10_02_08_2_37_53.jpg)
more pics
(http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/gallery/1_10_02_08_2_42_03.jpg)
(http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/gallery/1_10_02_08_2_42_52.jpg)
(http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/gallery/1_10_02_08_2_44_24.jpg)
Fantastic what an excellent catch. That must have been a real buzz when you hooked into that. Never hooked up a sail fish yet, I noticed you were using a black/purple ish squid as a lure.
Excellent :)
U are perfectly right regarding the lure. The problem is that the maker of those lures (a family run business) stopped the manufacture as they retired. That type of lure and in pink and white is responsibility for spearfish and tunas apart from Alungi.
It would make my season if I were to catch such a fish myself but it is still nice to see on a photo.Well done!!!!!!!!!!
VERY NICE 'Short Bill Spearfish' Well Done!!!!! A sail fish's dorsal fin is very large and extends nearly right down to its tail fin. We actually hooked onto one in Cairns briefly in the first ten minutes, but dropped it.
Very Nice Catch Visa.
Who says there's no fish in Malta?
Twoutes our BIG problem with fishing in Malta is that when the fishing season starts we have to take up our boat on the hard, as we do not have decent safe marinas where to put them. The insurances usually cover you till October/November so no use risking the boat.
This is the main reason why we complain of fishing in Malta.....having said that its still of no comparison with Australian fishing.
hey shanook my boat is still in the water but paying the marina for nothing as did not have any decent weather to use the boat , but next tuesday , wensday and thursday looks o.k. so will be going out for sure on one of those days, looking forward to catch a even bigger one (never Know) but will try one last time if i catch nothing will put boat up but if i do (catch anything) will leave it up till 15th December, ;D
The BEST of luck to you Visa. There are a lot of pastardell and good sized pixxispad around. Hope you catch a bigger one that the last. But weather is going to go up for Thursday so better check the weather forecast as I know you go out quite a bit. If you can stay till the 15 better keep it there as you never know when the weather breaks....
I wouldn't be so doomy and gloomy about fishing here. I'm sure we can't compare it to a country where you have hundreds of miles of coast with lots of diversity, but hey, we are right in the center of the Mediterranean, we have loads of migratory fish passing by between June and December.
I personnaly can't complain much, and I know there is much more I can do and learn to improve my catches. I know fisherman, who don't post in this forum, but catch as much fish as us all put together. Huge Amberjack, Dentici, Albacore, Groupers, Tuna, Swordfish........Top game fish and its all here! Maybe thanks to this forum, by sharing between us, we can make up for what our older ancestors shared at the Xelin Wine Bars after they got drunk!
I'm personally going to invest in a good down rigger next year, thats my target. Dentici and Amberjack. Some friends had really good success with Amberjack.
hi ciappinu
cant agree with you more, have a top dowrigger myself but hardly used it this year (just used it once) have been meaning to use it for the last two months but then i always preferr to troll on the surface as still havent got used to the downrigger but will try it once before i put my boat up.
Before u buy i can leand u a book called all about downriggers what to buy and what u need to know about them before u buy, on condition u give it back ;D just let me know if u are interested. myself cant complain as this year i caught my biggest fish although it was a poor year next to other years for example last year caught so many lampuki that had nowhere to store them and finsihed either giving them away to family and friends. and releasing those we caught under one and half kilo.(approx) But as the saying goes The fisherman is never happy with his catch, always thinking about the one that got away.
more people seem to be using downriggers. the problem is that in malta to buy something(downrigger,electric reels,gps,fishfinders) they are always a lot more expensive than abroad. my friend just bought a manuaul downrigger from usa from the net and got it with shipping and other expenses half the price than from malta. the brand of downrigger. even if you search for electric reels there are some places that the prices are nearly half of the prices in malta
You are right ciappinu, there are definately fish to be caught, but I think the measure needs to be done against the casual fisherman who has the time to go out say once a week. If someone goes out three or four times a week for different types of fishing one would expect a much higher catch percentage.
I also think one has to look at the method of fishing as for me there is a big difference between fishing by rod or hand line, versus long lining, nets or large metal nassa in deep water. That said there are some excellent fishermen in Malta with years of experience and their own techniques who as you say are extremely productive. Perhaps we will be lucky to have one of them join the site one day and post some tips.
From a personal perspective I would love to learn more about downrigger and bottom line fishing and fishing with live bait, but I feel one has to have the right boat that is geared up for that.
Skip
hi busumark , dont take it against the local shopekeeper, regarding the prices, you have a choice you can either buy from the net or go to the local shops, dont forget the local shop has a limited number of people to sell to, cost are high ie. employees, rent, stocks, electricty, vat, incometax, etc etc.. but from the internet they are selling to the world with a big choice and the amount they buy and sell they can afford to give those prices.
Having said that i bought a downrigger from usa and had to pay for carrage, vat and duty. bought it because there wasent the choice and varity in the local shops otherwise whenever i can i buy from local shops and skip the offer for the book is also extended to you.
Thanks Visa, I had a look at some downriggers at the local shops. They all seemed the same to me so you are right, I need to do some research first! I might ask you for that book.
Skip, I was impressed this summer when a friend of mine went fishing with an experienced Sport Fisherman from the older generation. They managed to catch around 9 alungi and a massive kastardella, or whatever you call it, when the forum was lacking the smallest of alungis! They were sport fishing of course.
Ciappinu, alungi started well this season, and catches were good both in size as well as in numbers. But when we had that change in weather and the sea went rough for 2 weeks after that the catches went down drastically. As a matter of fact most of us didn't bother to go out anymore as we spend about 14hrs on the water going out 30/35 miles.
There are those that are now laying longlines for alungi and although that's another way of fishing for sports I prefer to troll. Can substitute the sound of the reel zzzzzZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz. I had friends sleeping in the cabin but as soon as they hear that sound they are on the rod before I can blink an eye.
Regarding the down rigger before choosing a brand first decide whether to go for electric or manual. don't rush into anything before you check out all the options and usage.
very good advise shanook,about the dowrigger.
what was the biggest alilungia u caught this season, myseft too much trolling for nothing so i leave it for you to catch hehe ;D
This year didnt go out much. I missed the best part of season and when i went, the Alungi were long gone. Biggest Alunga that caught me this year was around the 10Kg not to big neither too small. Biggest since I have been trolling for them 26Kg. largest number when trolling 16 (There are others that caught more than that). Regarding weight I think mine is one of the heaviest. Multiple catch of 3 at one go.in good weather i troll with 5 lines. Most fun I had when on my own in a matter of 30 minutes I had 6 alungi in boat, was so exhausted with pulling them in as well as the adrenaline that i ended up laughing face up on deck. The time i laughed most when I had a friend of mine with a hand line and his son handed his hand line for a cup of tea and in that instant he caught 2 fish and was pulled to the stern of the boat ( I dont normally use hand lines, i use rod and reel, but Alungi are fun on 60Lb hand line).
not bad i would do the same like u laugh at the world if that happened to me . the only trouble is i dont go on my own, dont tell me why but thats it i hate being alone on the boat,
What is the largest size the alonga can grow in the mediterranean pls? Any help?
As a species 60kgs, around our waters as Shanook said 25kgs was a one off, usually they are no bigger than 16kgs.
to add bit to that. We fish in surface waters as thats where the juveniles congregate and are abundant. the adults are loners and keep to deeper waters. We target the juveniles as there is more chance of catching them.
14kilos is the biggest I heard down in B'Buga. Personally my biggest was 12.5k
the biggest one i know was 28.7kgs and it was caught in the 1st week of Sept from a friend of mine. I think she lost the road :) or liked our sea
fishfinder I remember caching small alungi with tumbrell in September as well in March
I think some stay longer in our sea but may be they tend to go deeper.
The biggest i got is 15 kilos.Never saw one bigger :P
Cawla 14kg
60 kgs and still alive.........................my wife ;D
lol
coming down to the BBQ Benri?
I like this topic BIGGEST CATCHES... I would rather post in a topic named ANY CATCHES?? If things keep going the way they are we will soon have NO CATCHES and after some yeas FISH ??? WHAT"S THAT. Kollox minhabba il-parit u il-cowboys (jew fishboys jigu dawk?) li jitfghuh....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdRuU3noipw Check out the size of this grouper.
.......naqbel mieghek Toxictuna. Ilbierah gewwa supermarket rajt ghall-bejgh go fish display, pixxi san pietru ta xi 10cms, u kocc kahli u sargi wkoll ma jaqbzux 10cms!!! Vera bahar meqrud bill-pariti)-:
imma dan ma jistawx jghatu multa lil min qed ibih dan il hut... biex tmur issib is sajjid difficili ghax il bahar kbir. Imma hwienet tal hut hawn inqas.... ghati multa lil min ibih u ma jibqax jixtri min ghand is sajjied, is sajjied ma jibqax jaqba il hut iz zghir ghax ma igib xejn tieghu. Veru ikun hemm xorta xi ftit imma ahjar milli jaqbdu bil kwantita.... kif ghamlu bil friken tal bahar wara kollox...
Went fishing for lampuki yesterday,didn,t catch any fishing with hand lines but something hit my lure that was HUGE.Ripped the line through my fingers causeing burns. Fish turned and headed back towards the boat pulled the line till got contact with the fish and wrapped the line around my hand and fingers.Fish took off so hard and the pull was so great that I thought Iwould loose my fingers as the line was so tightaround them. My friend grabed the line with me but the pull was too much as we had no means of playing it like you do with a rod and reel so the line snapped ( 50lbs bs ) Next time its fishing for lampuki with a 50lbs rod and Penn 115, now burn my fingers fishy ;D
redbud a lot of tunnies around, from land we saw them geting out of water.
we usually keep a few mtrs extra with any hand line so that u have some line to play with, still cannot compare to rod and reel. DO NOT EVER wrap line round ur hands or fingers as it can be dangerous apart from burns u can get pulled in the water and if the line is kept taught thers is no telling what can happen. A tuna is a lot stronger than a human...so be careful especially those who use .90mm lines.
Jekk iridu l'awtoritajiet jafu x'ghandhom jaghmlu biex iwaqqfu sajd illegali, toxictuna........imma hemm min ghandu nteress ux........ara maghna l-kaccaturi, full time fuqna l-ALE
rixa.....do you really believe that no action is taken against illegal interest because of personal interests? you know anything fishy?
that personal interest is called VOTE.
rixa444 ghandu ragun.....lilna hin kollu jiccekjawlna is sniter li jkun fijom 3,tipi ta skratac ,closed season u hekk u kontra dawn is -sajjieda li jiksru il ligi xejn
I think your comparison with trying to control illegal and indiscriminate hunting with trying to control illegal fishing does not make sense. They are on different levels ......and you need different resources to control them. The effects of illegal hunting and fishing are also visibly very different. Seeing a graceful flamingo shot into hundreds of pieces is different from seeing a ten inch pesche san pietro being caught. Accordingly, public opinion would tend to be harsher towards illegal hunting then illegal fishing. Fisheye---- votes do not come into the equation for illegal fishing! If anything, votes would have been considered when dealing with illegal hunting.
Imsomma.... ovja li both are very wrong.. I just think the comparison sucks. I would do anything to stop the bast**** from destroying our sea...
my friend stevea votes in malta come in ALL equations and they always did. How ? it is a long boaring discussion which we can take in the next event organised by the forum. Hunting is another soft spot I have and In MAlta we have been banned from practicing leagal hunting. Spring hunting was leagal but we have been banned from practicing it. By the way I am against any Illeagal activity whether is hunting, fishing or anything else and all of it should be stopped. Killing a graceful flamingo is as much disturbing as killing a 15 year old cernia or a dolphin or presenting a dish filled with undersize fish. But while for the flamingo, one can be even imprisoned for the others nothing is being done. By the way was nice meeting you yesterday.
yes yes.. Fisheye.. you have a point but i would tend to keep fishing and hunting apart,,,,, as I personaly have different views on hunting,,,was also nice meeting everyone..))
I am totally against illegal fishing !!!!
In my opinion all nets should be banned (I myself would be effected with this as in winter we occasionly drop some nets but if its for the good then im in). Nets do cause a lot of damage to the sea. Trawling nets should be allowed to be dropped outside the 25nm zone only!!! It is disgusting seeing a trawler trawling in the 2NM range !!! Also on hurds bank they trawl like there is no tomorrow.
well said BigBoy. You're talking very responsible and giving a very good example.
welldone ;)
Imisshom jghamlu sms - alert bhal tal emissions tal karozzi. Ibghat sms fejn qieghed il parit u jonsbuh meta jigi biex jigbru...
toxictuna...agree with you perfectly.....excellent idea,,,imma bit difficult hux